New Jersey: We’re Taking Grandpa’s Gun

A textbook case of injustice is unfolding for New Jersey resident Danny Burt. Despite a valid state credential to possess firearms and no criminal record, Burt lost all his firearms to a temporary restraining order that was dismissed a month later.

Among the confiscated weapons was his grandfather’s M1 carbine, brought home from World War II and passed on to Burt in 2006. He appealed the non-return of the carbine. But without even a determination of the operability of the rifle, the New Jersey Appellate Court is upholding the forfeiture ruling.

Beyond the frightening force of the restraining order process, there is the now decades-old misapplication of the term “assault weapon.” No one contends that Mr. Burt had a fully automatic M2 Carbine, the only version of the heirloom that would fit the actual meaning of the term.

Restoring Rights In Delaware

The story of a Delaware woman fighting for her Second Amendment rights while living in government housing is a familiar one to many A1F Daily readers. In the housing complex where she lived, roaming gang members and drug dealers were an everyday sight, but owning a gun was prohibited. After a lengthy battle, she won an NRA-backed court challenge against the housing authority, restoring her and other residents’ Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

Now she is the topic of a new Freedom’s Safest Place television commercial. “If I am not free because of my address today, what makes you think you’ll be free tomorrow?” she asks. “I marched behind Martin Luther King at Selma. I know my rights. Now I have my gun. I am the National Rifle Association of America. And I’m freedom’s safest place.”

Schumer’s Approval Rating Hits 15-Year Low

Less than a month after he teamed up with cousin Amy Schumer to push for stronger gun control, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is already seeing results.

Actually, a better word might be “consequences.” In a press conference, Amy Schumer described their three-part gun-control plan—which includes begging retailers to require completion of background checks (despite the three-day provision in federal law) and penalizing states based on NICS system submissions—as “sensible measures and restrictions.” But a new Quinnipiac University survey suggests New Yorkers might disagree.

According to the study, Schumer’s approval rating has slipped to a 15-year low (54 percent) despite support among New Yorkers for his position on the Iran nuclear deal. A 2000 poll put his approval rating at 52 percent; however, with a 2.7 percent margin of error in this survey, it’s possible he’s polling even lower now than he did then.

Tragedy: Unarmed Good Samaritan Killed While Calling 911

Anti-gunners commonly make the argument that the best thing to do in any emergency scenario is to call 911 and wait for emergency responders to arrive. But aside from the obvious absurdity of telling a woman whose front door has just been kicked down to put her trust in police response time, there is the fact that making the call can put you at risk. The tragic story of Dickie Stewart, who was killed while trying to help his neighbor, illustrates this principle.

Stewart, a resident of Pickens County, S.C., saw neighbor Bill Isaacs lying unresponsive in the yard of another property. He went to check on Isaacs while calling 911, but by doing so he made himself a target. An operator heard him exclaim, “I’ve been shot … He shot me too!” The sad loss of both men shows that just calling authorities without being armed is not always sufficient to guarantee safety.

County Prosecutors Barred From Owning Guns

According to the Nassau County, N.Y., District Attorney’s Office application form, prosecutors are barred from possessing a handgun, even at home. The application reads, “Assistant district attorneys are not permitted to apply for a handgun permit nor own or possess a handgun while employed by the Nassau County District Attorney.”

When asked by the Washington Post about the policy, the office responded, saying, “Our practice of asking prosecutors to not possess handguns is to ensure the safety and comfort of staff, victims and witnesses, and is consistent with other district attorney’s offices in the New York City metropolitan area.”

Prosecutors spend their days locking up the most dangerous in our society, often threatened by criminals and their associates. Despite their justifications, Nassau County has made its prosecutors less safe and more vulnerable to the criminals who decide to make good on those threats.

Heroic Husband Saves Wife From Robber

A 76-year-old Indianapolis man did what any good husband would do when his wife was in danger—he stopped the threat.

An armed robber had broken into the man’s home just before 5 p.m. on Monday. Anthony Talley was attempting to rob the man’s 75-year-old wife and pointed a gun at her during the altercation. Unbeknownst to Talley, the husband had appeared from the back of the house and, seeing a gun trained on his wife, he pulled his own gun and fired.

The 27-year-old robber was shot multiple times and remains in critical condition. No stranger to crime, Talley’s rap sheet had multiple open warrants for his arrest, including strangulation, dealing drugs, possession of a firearm without a license and resisting law enforcement.

With one less bad guy now on the streets, hopefully the elderly couple can rest a bit easier at night.